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Could GM’s Economic Hardship Delay the Volt? Poll Finds 50% of Michigan Residents Think So

October 24th, 2008 | Posted in: Financial

The financial crisis is fast upon us, and the US automakers appear to be caught right in the crosshairs.

GM’s turnaround effort is fast being scuttled by economic conditions that Chrysler’s CEO Bob Nardelli called “truly unimaginable.” As GM is rapidly burning through its cash reserves, auto sales are plummeting globally, possibly to levels GM couldn’t survive in its current state.

The company has slashed production, workforce, stock dividend, employee 401K matching, GM Style event, and big ticket advertising campaigns. They are trying to sell their headquarters, the Hummer brand, and a French assembly plant. They are even making sure they are keeping their offices cooler and turning off the lights at night.

There is some flicker of hope that by merging with Chrysler, GM could get access to Chrysler’s $11 billion cash, but since credit to fund the merger may be unobtainable, there is now talk about possible government intervention.

Today, reports have even indicated that GM might have to delay its exciting highly efficient Chevy Cruze from a planned 2010 to 2011 launch to further save cash.

Also a poll of 400 Michigan residents showed that only half believe the Volt cold be produced within 2 years as intended.

Since the Cruze and Volt sit atop the same compact delta platform, and the Volt requires a lot more specialized and expensive parts and tooling, is delay or even death of our beloved car possible?

I asked GM spokesperson Nancy Libby whether the Volt would be delayed. She replied “the Volt is on schedule and targeted for a November, 2010 release,” and GM Volt spokesperson Rob Peterson said “the Volt is the top priority program within General Motors.”

As for whether the Cruze might be delayed Libby said “There are many media reports, speculation, rumors all the time about GM and its products and for those, I have no comment.”

Source (Businessweek) and (Detroit News)

Posted by: Lyle

110 Responses to “Could GM’s Economic Hardship Delay the Volt? Poll Finds 50% of Michigan Residents Think So”

Jerry Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 8:40 pm

FIRST !!!!
This is really disappointing news, hope it is not true and our beloved Volt is produced….Go GM!!!!

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dagwood55 Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 8:44 pm

I think it was Jerry Flint who said recently that any idea that Cerberus is going to leave $11B in cash lying around for someone else to scoop up in a deal was crazy.

I think ol’ Jerry’s on to something there.

Cerberus is holding a GMAC gun to GM’s head to force them to buy Chrsyler; no cash is involved. GM would be stupid to pick up Chrysler; Chrysler’s brands, dealer network and reputation are as dead as doornails.

GM’s best bet is to hang on, pray for Chrysler to die (do whatever they can to encourage it to die – intensify competition with Chrysler if possible – probably not possible) and hope to scoop up some of the market share that still refuses to buy foreign cars.

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dagwood55 Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 8:45 pm

“As for whether the Cruze might be delayed Libby said “There are many media reports, speculation, rumors all the time about GM and its products and for those, I have no comment.””

In other words, true, but GM doesn’t want to admit it. Delaying the Cruze is a bad, bad plan.

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vincent Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 9:02 pm

Only GM knows what the state of their internal finances are.
The economy sucks….no one is spending money. We all know this.
If you were cash strapped what would you do.
…only what you can afford to do.
Tough one people. I truly want them to make it.

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Texas Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 9:08 pm

I have always said that it’s possible for GM to claim bankruptcy. I’m sure the government will do whatever they can to prevent this but who knows if that will be enough (or better yet fast enough). This would not be the end of GM. It will just be the start of a major reorganization.

I believe GM is on the right path in their thinking that the electrification of the automobile is priority one. Even as the price of oil is now dropping and may continue to fall, GM knows that for the global economy to fully recover and move forward there needs to be a solution to using petroleum fuels for transportation.

In fact, now that the price of oil is dropping due to demand destruction it will result in even LESS investment for oil exploration. This is going to eventually make things even worse. Things like shale oil and tar sands are not feasible when the price of oil is too low. Thus, companies will have to slow down investment. Added to that, the old huge oil fields are not getting any younger. Every barrel pumped gets more expensive.

GM is in a do or die situation here. If they give up on the Volt they give up. I still have faith that GM will claw it’s way back as long as they remain committed to the electrification of the automobile. If they weaken that resolve I will bow my head to them and wish them luck.

When GM says the Volt is their number one priority it keeps me encouraged that they are still on the right track. The Volt program should be the last active project to get funding cuts. If it comes to that then we will all just have to wait a little longer. As long as GM holds that number one priority I’m here.

Except for historical and nostalgic reasons I don’t care about old automotive technologies. The day the Volt was conceived was the day the ICE-only automobile became an endangered species.

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Dave K. Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 9:12 pm

“Could GM’s Economic Hardship Delay the Volt?
… Michigan Residents Think So.”
__________________________

The lower price of pump gasoline is a good thing for GM. This will steep the public’s interest in comfortable mid size 30 MPG vehicles. And fortunately this is GM’s strong suit right now.

Who has the money to buy a new car? Law enforcement and military personnel do. Doctors and nurses do. Anyone involved in auto repair/ used parts / and auto recycling do. This is why I feel the Camaro models and the complete Saturn hybrid/plug-in line will be a big hit.

If oil prices continue to drop due to a “real or imaginary” world wide economic crisis. This is still good for GM. As the over stock of trucks and other work vehicles will again be in demand.

If the price of oil again increases to $125 a barrel. Due to artificial regulation by OPEC’s predictable use of production cuts. Then the U.S. government will focus on rebates and incentives for domestic cars achieving 40 MPG or more. It is unlikely we will again go in with military force to “free civilians from an oppressive government”.

I think we’re fine on the Volt. Some things are just destined to be. And besides, static can charge his Volt battery using pure mental energy. We just can’t let that go to waste.

hi ED M # 7,
I just read your post. I agree, union workers need to be altruistic right now and take a cut. it really is the American thing to do. Then again, an unemployed union worker can always get an assistant manager job at McDonalds .

=D~

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Ed M Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 9:13 pm

These are truly rough financial times and about to get a lot rougher. Its been 75 years of good times and we’re overdue for some sort of correction. While the stock market and financial systems sort themselves out, a lot of people are going to be hurt. The unthinkable seems to be happening.
What really surprises me is the Boeing strike now in its 8th week I believe and Machinist’s Union crowing about bringing Boeing to its knees. Does this Union want to end up like the UAW, no power at all ? It always amazes me how unions blindly lead workers down the path of destruction. When or if Boeing closes or relocates the workers will have no one to blame but themselves.

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N Riley Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 9:26 pm

GM must find ways to hang on to survive the next two or three years when they will have more products available to offer the public that will be much more fuel efficient. I don’t know about merging with Chrysler. I think Ford and GM should each purchase part of Chrysler to prevent it being taken over by Nissan & Renault. If it requires more assistance from the federal government, then so be it. We would be better off with that solution than trusting Nissan & Renault to do what is right for our workers and our economy. Trust in ourselves and make our companies strong. Keep our auto industry as strong as we possibly can and as free from foreign entanglements as possible.

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Grant Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 9:29 pm

I really don’t know. This is a totally uninformed opinion, but I’d think they could potentially do well to delay the Cruze, and use it’s very similar plant arrangements as a cost-saving maneuver that massively increases the amount of Volts they can put out at first with little alteration to the existing plan. As the Cruze and Volt share a lot of pieces, this could also lend itself to my theory.

However, to do this, you must look at it as ‘do or die’, by which I mean, the Volt must be exacting in its durability. One massive battery recall, if this plan is followed, and it’s over. There would be no recovery possibility of they fail.

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N Riley Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 9:29 pm

GM needs to speed up introduction of the Cruze into the U.S. not delay it. They need to ask for more loans from the government, if that is what it is going to take. The faster GM gets fuel efficient vehicles on the market, the faster they will recover. But, they can not ignore quality and workmanship for speed.

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bigsmile Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 9:37 pm

GM and Chrysler should just file Chapter 7 so Ford can be left alone and become premier US auto maker. I just bought Ford Fusion and it is a very reliable car based on my driving experience. The Toyota dealer warned me that Ford could only make cars with the doors cracking, engine stalling and transmission burning, all within one week, I proved that they are wrong in he last 7 days!
I have heard from lots of Americans that they hate American cars, especially Chrysler, Dodge, Chevy, Saturn or Pontiac. Hhhm, I would suggest everybody stop buying Chrysler junks from now on! Ford is the way to go, America!

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Dave K. Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 9:52 pm

hi bigsmile # 11,

I like Ford as well, especially the Fusion. At 160HP and 20/29 rating it isn’t bad. I still want an EREV Chevy. Whether a Volt, Cruze, or maybe even a Vue.

This shift toward usable battery power is going to be awesome.

1> 100 MPH capability
2> enough torque to have fun with ~ 0-60 in 8.5 seconds
3> 300 MPG potential as a daily driver.
4> comfort and style ~ lady magnet?
5> 9 out of 10 coolness factor inside and out

I wish Chrysler well, it’s going come down to labor costs.

=D~

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Jimmy Hodges Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 9:55 pm

Michigan needs the Volt! This is the car that’s going to put GM back in the game. This car will be built in Michigan by Michigan auto workers! I am confident! If I had a few extra grand at my disposal I’d buy up GM stock like crazy!

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D'Artagnon Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 9:57 pm

“economic conditions that Chrysler’s CEO Bob Nardelli called ‘truly unimaginable.’”

Why are they unimaginable? This isn’t even as bad as the 1970s, when we had double digit unemployment and double digit inflation.

That the head of a major NA automaker is so limited in his thinking that he couldn’t see what was going to happen and prepare for it is evidence of why NA automakers haven’t been doing very well. It is a case of the blind leading the deaf.

That said, GM’s Volt is truly revolutionary, and will change the name of the game in the auto industry. I wouldn’t draw too many conclusions from rumors and polls being published in the media.

Best regards,

D’Artagnon

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Grizzly Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 10:01 pm

One of the problems facing GM is that they obviously don’t have a balanced portfolio of vehicles available. They are large vehicle top heavy. This is what makes this crisis all the more difficult. If they had more fuel efficient vehicles at the lower end they wouldn’t be climbing the development cycle hill, and could hold development on new versions and offer incentives on the vehicles they have. This is what is going to make the decision on the Cruze all the more difficult because it’s a vehicle they need to help balance their lineup. If and when they make it through this crisis, I hope they’ve learned their lesson….balance is they key.

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Van Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 10:09 pm

When the Chrysler 300 first came out, I visited the local dealer and took a look. The exterior was ok, the fit and finish a tad sub-par, but still ok. However, when I climbed inside, the car seemed not at all up to the standards of my Avalon. And with Consumer Reports continuing to teach only the foreign cars are reliable, I walked away.

Maybe Nissan will buy them, and simply rebadge the Infinity as a Chrysler, the Ultima as a Dodge, continue the minivans, and stop production on the rest. They could bring back other brand names once they achieved a 100% turnover in personnel, which it appears is the only way to end the culture of sloppiness.

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Morgan Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 10:11 pm

7 Ed M:

don’t worry about Boeing. Bush will break that strike after the election as a favor to whoever becomes President-Elect.

Boeing is an important defense contractor. They can’t move production out of the US and with the economy the way it is they really can’t handle Union extortion.

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jeff j Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 10:12 pm

The mere thought of GM , Ford and Chrysler fold up the tents closing the doors and waving the white towel and leaving all auto building to Japan , South Korea , China, Germany . The thought is so terrible I can’t really grasp it fully . Something truly smells what happen to all those profits these big SUV & truck sells years bought in ,, You would think that Sells where off by 40% to 75% . All you fat Cat Management types should lead bye taking a hugh salary cut , I’m sorry but his and her helicopters and a fighter Jet for a marketing exec. Lutz just reeks of over payed. Then UAW also takes a 20% cross the broad cut until the company gets back to profitability. Sorry for the shameless ramblings folks Jeff J

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Dave K. Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 10:21 pm

hi jimmy # 13,

“If I had a few extra grand at my disposal I’d buy up GM stock like crazy!”

________________________________________

This week I purchased a recycling stock. Next week I plan on buying a li-poly battery company which just received a new contract. This is all the loose cash I have right now.

The media keeps beating the “global fear” drum. And until they stop, GM will be dropping a bit in value. Boeing and Caterpillar are killing the S&P right now and stoking the “fear” engine.

We still have time on GM. But, I’m with you, a nice long term play. Will be jumping in fairly soon.

The market will have a post election rally. Followed by the annual Santa Claus rally. http://garfwod.250free.com/Photos/santa_claus_coke.jpg

=D~

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Dave K. Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 10:42 pm

hi jeff j # 18,

This exact thought crossed my mind today.

An auto (or airline) executive should earn a maximum of $500,000 a month. Some are now at several times this compensation rate.

Adding this element to Union talks could very well support a deal.

BTW: A person earning $36,000 a year will accrue $1,500,000 in an entire lifetime of labor.

=D~

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js1219 Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 10:59 pm

Fine…scale back on the rest of your cars.

Volt, full steam ahead!

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Dave K. Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 11:10 pm

Nice shot of the Cruze in cherry red.

http://garfwod.250free.com/Photos/Cruze%20%202010%20-%20cherry.jpg

Please EREV me.

=D~

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GLV Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 11:37 pm

I keep thinking that C11 wouldn’t be all that bad for GM in the long run. It would give them a chance to reorganize and renegotiate all their contracts (including labor), while being protected from their creditors, so that at about the same time the economy started to come back around, they would be lean and mean and poised to supply the world with EREVs. If you figure that Chrysler either has to perform a miracle or will go C11 also, and Ford isn’t looking all that strong either right now, then it could be like the airline industry, where everyone’s been in and out of C11, so it really doesn’t matter.

Either way, I just hope that GM recognizes how important it is to their long term survival to bring an EREV to market. The technology could not only be a lifesaver for them and eventually all automakers, but a game-changer for the world. We simply cannot continue down the oily road…it gets steeper and slipperier every year.

Maybe the government will realize this technology is part of our strategic defense and support automakers who bring alternative energy-driven vehicles to the marketplace. Wouldn’t that be nice!

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MO Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 11:40 pm

Will this reduce foreign demand for the Chevy Volt in 2012?
Better hurry up GM. God speed.

Project Better Place
==============

http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2008/10/australia-next-for-electric-car-boosters-project-better-place-renault-and-nissan.html

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john1701a Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 11:41 pm

I asked GM spokesperson Nancy Libby whether the Volt would be delayed.
__________________________________

That’s not actually the question which needs answering.

Of course rollout will continue as scheduled. Financial risk isn’t incurred from a minor rollout and the resulting attention will keep the dream alive.

What needs to be asked is how mainstream volume will be achieved… and when.

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Jeff M Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 11:47 pm

Chrysler is in very bad shape itself…. they just announced a big layoff of salaried employees. Merging with GM may help both as most mergers result in cost savings by eliminating redundancy… that does mean even more layoffs, but other savings as well.

Sadly oil could drop to $30/barrel and that alone could significantly put a damper on demand with $2 or less a gallon for gas. On top of that we could still be coming out of a worldwide recession two years from now, and even fewer folks being able to afford it.

Personally I hope the Volt is still built, whether it be delayed a year or two or not, no one can blame GM if they do have to delay it. I think any EV from any company is going to have trouble being launched in this environment, unless they find a way to bring costs of electron storage way down fast (long shot EEStor lives up to even half their hype). Even the non-plugin Toyota Prius and the new Honda Insight I think will have trouble with gas at $2.

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Dan Says:
October 24th, 2008 at 11:50 pm

Jerry Flint wrote an article saying Bail out GM. Couldn’t agree more. The plan from July 15th to raise $15 billion was great, and would have made GM a lean company after the recession, without delaying any major product launches. And then the credit crisis exploded and things got much worse for GM. Now it is desperation time and they have to delay product or run out of cash. If GM doesn’t get government loans akin to what the financial sector has gotten, there won’t be a Volt. It just ain’t fair.

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john1701a Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 12:01 am

Even the non-plugin Toyota Prius and the new Honda Insight I think will have trouble with gas at $2.
________________________________________

Back when gas was $2, sales for Prius were strong (over 100,000 annually here).

Years later with a reinforced reputation and a new generation, what would be considered trouble?

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Dave K. Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 12:35 am

hi john1701a # 28,

I agree, drivers will always want a car that rarely cries: FEED me .. FEED me.
—————————————
It’s a long way off, but Volt technology will eventually morph into 250HP vehicles with FWD and offering 4WD on the fly. The needs of snow country and muddy areas will demand this.

Doors will open for EV Jet Ski, snow mobiles and other sport scooters as well.

Should someone phone Bombardier?

=D~

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Jeff Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 12:54 am

#28 john1701

I agree. A vehicle with documented proof of low cost of ownership and reliability should have no problems with continued sales. This statement may sound boring…but no one has to know the real reasons for your purchase. You bought it to save the planet and reduce foreign oil dependence…right?

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Mike D Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 1:30 am

Do you know why this poll means nothing? Because take $1 million cash, put it into a briefcase, and walk around polling people as to weather or not they believe that there is or isn’t $1 MILLION in this very briefcase that you’re holding. What will most people say? “No.”

So should you believe them and throw the briefcase away?

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Texas Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 1:52 am

#26 Jeff M wrote:

“Even the non-plugin Toyota Prius and the new Honda Insight I think will have trouble with gas at $2.”
___________________________________

I would like to think you are wrong and that people will not forget the problems we just had with the price of gas but I think you are right. It sometimes amazes me how fast people forget. Then again if people didn’t easily forget pain they might never leave the house!

I hope enough people realize that the price of gas is going to jump again once we reach a level of oil use that we did this past summer. It’s not like we can produce anymore then around 86 mbd. If we want our economy to grow we will need more oil or more alternatives. Since both require a lot of time and money to develop I think it’s safe to predict that gas prices will rise again. If they don’t it means a long recession or worse. If that happens not many people are going to be buying any car, yet alone an EV or hybrid EV.

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Jon Archer Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 2:31 am

Peak Oil is coming like a freight train. The ‘geniuses’ and ‘pundits’ didn’t see the subprime mortgage problem coming, they didn’t see the disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan coming, they didn’t see the banks and insurance company problems coming: and the DON’T see the Peak Oil problem coming.

2010 to 2014 is when it will hit, and after that, $150/barrel oil will be a good month. The Volt will hit its stride right when people are freaking out over $5 and $6 gasoline. GM has a homerun on its hands, if it can ramp up production after the initial couple years. I hope economies of scale can get the price of the li-ion battery down quickly. I hope the lessons learned on the EV1 help a lot, because Toyota had 10 years of development on the Prius which will position them well once li-ion batteries are a standard, global automotive part (they are working on a better Prius, but not an EREV like the Volt, as far as I know).

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greg Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 2:42 am

I really hate consumer distorts.

They have been wrong so many times with every car I have owned.

And I heard they are no profit but there largest donations come from toyota.

This one publication has caused problems and warped peoples perception towards american automobiles.

I used to be in the TV business and they rated two tvs one the best one the worst.

WE knew they were the same tv because of the chasis was the same. So the store never trused that publication.

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GmsAJoke Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 2:48 am

Mo, this would be a complete waste of time and money for the US.

Will this reduce foreign demand for the Chevy Volt in 2012?
Better hurry up GM. God speed.

Project Better Place
==============

http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2008/10/australia-next-for-electric-car-boosters-project-better-place-renault-and-nissan.html

It took a 100 years and trillions of dollars to get the gas stations in place in the US. It would take even more to bring this concept to the US for electric charging stations and battery swapping.

This plan is no competitor of the Volt type range extender auto.

I think everybody wants to help for clean air, but what the tree huggers don’t understand is that most people do not want to sacraffice their lives to do it. Give them an electric car with the expexted realiabality of a gas extender and they will buy. Give them a golf cart size unknown electric shoe box and they will not.

Most people who buy the volt will fill their gas tank maybe 5 times per year once the companies put in charging stations for their employees (for tax breaks of course).

GM found this out on the EV1. The “what if” factor made it unsaleable except for the few. The gas range extender takes the “what if” factor out of the equation for most people. (What if I can’t find a place to recharge, or have the time, I need another ICE car)

Honda found this out with the first insight. (What if I need more than 2 seats or get run over by a skateboard, I need another ICE car)

The volt type range extender is a touchdown in a game that is already being played,
All others are just trying to figure out where the playing field is.

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Dave K. Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 3:02 am

China car manufacturer Chery has been talking with Chrysler for partnership since 2006. Recent reports from China indicate that Chery is trying to raise the capital necessary (about $4.4 billion) to purchase Volvo.

Photo of the Chery Fengyun http://garfwod.250free.com/Photos/Chery_Fengyun_Coupe_II.jpg

=D~

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truthguy Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 3:51 am

Joe Archer says Iraq and Afghanistan are disasters. Rubbish. Things are going well in both places. I have friends who have come back from both and they report things are going well and REAL progress is being made. This will pay huge dividens in the future but it’s a long term fight that has to be waged. We aren’t spending any more on Defense than what we did in the 1980’s under Reagan and that’s with Iraq and Afghanistan.
I blame all my friends and relatives who have purchased Hondas and Toyotas. I’ve only owned 6 car in my life and 5 have been American (1 German). We need to encourage our friends and relatives to buy American. These fools are so short sighted that they cut their own throats.

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Dave K. Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 4:29 am

hi GmsAJoke # 35,

Thanks for the Australia hyperlink.
___________________________

2009 Chevrolet Cobalt XFE 155 HP @ 37MPG highway

# Body style: 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan
# Seating capacity: 5
# Trim levels: LS, LT1, LT2
# Price range (including destination and options): $15,670 – $22,410
# Test vehicle/price as tested: Cobalt XFE LS sedan, $16,324
# Base engine: 2.2 inline 4-cylinder, 155 hp @ 6,100 RPM, 150 lb-ft @ 4,900 RPM
# Optional engine: None
# Premium fuel required? No
# Transmission: 5-speed manual
# Driveline: Front engine, front-wheel-drive
# EPA fuel economy estimates: 25 MPG city, 37 MPG highway
# Observed fuel economy: 30.1 MPG
# Where built: United States
# Standard safety equipment: Front airbags, two-row side curtain airbags
# Optional safety equipment: Antilock brakes
# Major standard features: Air conditioning, AM/FM/CD stereo, OnStar

http://garfwod.250free.com/Photos/Cobalt%20XFE%202009.jpg

=D~

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nasaman Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 6:31 am

When Wagoner made GM’s financial guru (Fritz Hendersen) GM’s President it made me wonder if they anticipated financially-troubled times ahead —they probably did, but not as severe as what’s happened!

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OzoneLevel Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 7:16 am

It is obvious that Pickens and the oil companies are determined to have GM fail. The Volt is an unacceptable threat to their profit plans.

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Biodieseljeep Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 7:53 am

As Mr. Bill used to say:

“Oh, Nooooooooooo!”

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Brad G Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 8:16 am

#5 Texas says:
I have always said that it’s possible for GM to claim bankruptcy. I’m sure the government will do whatever they can to prevent this but who knows if that will be enough (or better yet fast enough). This would not be the end of GM. It will just be the start of a major reorganization.
—————————————–
One of GM’s biggest is problems is the UAW is bleeding them dry. If they claim bankruptcy then they can get out of these age old contracts.

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Joe Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 8:19 am

Grizzly Says:@15

“balance is they key.”

****************************************************************

I agree. We need the Cruze NOW!! GM,please balance your lineup as quickly as possible. You’d be in a much better shape today if you had done it years ago.

GO GM go!!!!

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J Man Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 8:54 am

People in our country need to realize that if they want the economy to pick back up they need to stop buying imported goods and buy stuff made in America. Buying American made products from American made companies is what will help our country survive. When you buy a item made in America you are supporting the Americans that made that product, supporting the company that makes the product and supporting our country when that company pays income taxes on that item you bought.

Buying a foreign product made by a foreign company, you are showing no support to America. Buying the foreign made product you are helping the person in the other country that made that product as well as the company that hired the person to make it. Problem is, they pay taxes on that product in that other country, not in the USA.

Here is where another issue comes into play. When you the American buy a foreign made product there is an American loosing their job. When they loose their job they in turn are financially worse off and usually have to cut back on their purchases and that would in turn affect you. People have less money to eat out so places like Applebees and even Taco Bell make less money. People spend less money on clothes and other various items, so places like Macys, J.C. Penny and Sears make less money. People have less money to spend on fun things like going to the movies, bowling and mini golf. Now how many of you work in a place like this or have done so when you were in high school or college? How many of you have kids that are working or will be working soon? If people are not spending money due to loosing their jobs these companies do not make money and then they lay off employees. It just trickles down. Right now it may not affect people on here but it will eventually get to you.

Basically what I am saying is BUY AMERICAN and help people in our country as well as our country get through these hard times.
_____________________________________________________

As far as the Volt and the Cruze, delaying them will be a big mistake. I do see a chance of the Cruze being delayed by maybe a year but not the Volt. There is too much money invested as well as a lot of hype/interest built up around the car. GM will sell everyone of the Volts but it will be more of a matter of who will actually be able to afford one if the economy keeps going down the drain and people keep loosing their jobs.

The problem is that when people have less money to spend the bigger purchases are the first to be put on hold, like a house or a car. That is one of the reasons the auto industry is having a hard time right now. The sad part is that when a company is having problems and need to save money they start at the bottom with the lowest paid people. You know the ones that actually do the work so the higher us can make money. Recently GM felt they needed to cut their white collar work force, they started at the bottom. So they decided to get rid of 2 people making $50k each so the guy that makes $200k could keep his job. The problem is that is only about 1/2 the savings they need and the guy making that $200k is the one that decided that the two making $50k would be the ones loosing their job. When they want employees to take a pay cut it is the lowest paid employees, not the higher paid ones. The average UAW GM employee will make less in 30 years than Wagoner will make this year.

GM had also got too confident with the big trucks and SUVs so when the gas prices jumped they are slow to react. Sadly GM makes cars in Europe that get great gas milage that they will not bring over here saying it would cost too much to change the car to meet the standards in the USA.

As Americans we have become to use to having luxuries that are not really needed. When we get tired of something we just throw it away or trade it for a new one. Sadly a lot of people are going to have to change their ways and a lot of people are going to have a hard time with that.
____________________________________________________

I have 2 newer vehicles in my household for 2 people. One is a ‘03 Impala that will hit 90k miles sometime in November. Other than maintaining the car not a single thing has been done to it. It is currently in need of struts with we were supposed to replace those about 15k miles ago. I figure we will wait 3 more years before we will get another car. That will give the car 144k miles. We will keep the Impala and I will continue to drive it to work and let my wife use the new car. The other vehicle we have is a ‘04 Chevy 3500 with a diesel. I bought it new in ‘07 and in the year and a half that I have had it I have put 12k miles on it. The only issue with it was the transfer pump between the two gas tanks. It was covered under warranty. The issue here is that most people will say GM builds crappy stuff. The thing is, GM did not make that pump, some other company did. I know that and I am smart enough not to blame GM for it.

Back 20 years ago GM, Ford and Chrysler were having quality issues but it is not the same anymore. All three companies have improved their quality tremendously to be equal to that of Toyota and Honda if not better. The issue here is that there is a media bias that still tells the uninformed public that American cars re still poor quality. That is crap. Due to that media bias most people do not realize that Toyota recalled more vehicles in 2006 than they made. That does not seem like good quality to me. Even last year Toyota had to recall thousands of Tundra trucks with bad cams that would blow the engine, did anyone hear about that?

I have been typing so long that I lost my train of thought so i will quit now.

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Adrian Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 9:06 am

To delay an event like the Volt (or Cruze) would be a foolish manuever. This sort of stuff is the future and the future is what will pay thye bills in the long run. I understand the next 18+ months will suck, and getting lean and mean is the way to survive, but you must come out swinging when this recession is over. Companies that cut back without taking this time during the coming recession to grow and refresh their product/service will be the ones left behind. GM must get the Volt ready or risk being a servere recession survivor with no future.
I will say though, all of us need to be prepared for a labor force reduction. Then if Obama gets elected, boy will it be worse. No one wants socialism less than businesses.

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Cautious Fan Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 9:14 am

Tesla’s new 240 mile, $60,000 5 person sedan. Supposed to arrive in 2010. I seriously doubt that’ll happen but…..

http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/24/teslas-4-door-all-electric-model-s-sports-sedan-gets-pictured/

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Katsuaki Watanabe Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 9:16 am

I think GM should delay the Volt so they can fix more pressing problems. GM needs to start closing all non-profitable operations immediately. This includes many more plant closures and layoffs. Move as much U.S. production to more profitable overseas plants ASAP. Then after these mandatory cutbacks they can resume development of the Volt in perhaps 2 years or so. This would be sufficient to save the corp. The main thing is action action action, immediately stop development of Volt for the future of the entire company. You are not alone GM, even our many good American workers at Toyota are feeling economic pain these days.

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Dieter Zetsche Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 9:36 am

A Volt delay is needed and I will support this move.

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Dave B Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 9:52 am

Adrian @ 45, I agree. Now is the time for GM to push the Volt through. Oil independence is huge. Environment is huge. Demand for EVs is huge. Do or die!

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statik Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 9:54 am

Ah, finally, the first in a series of many, ‘Will the Volt be delayed threads?’ Although I think we should been having a whole discussion of, “Has the Volt ever been on scheduled threads?”…but I digress.
—————–
As for, truly unimaginable,’ that is a pretty good crutch. All the CEO’s are claiming they had ‘no clue,’ or ‘totally unforeseen,’ but c’mon…thats the easy way out, and just not true.

Everyone and their dog knew this thing (the economy) was going into the crapper the second they saw the housing market collapsing, it is true alot refused to act on it, ignored it, or hoped it would rebound.

For alot more people a ‘physical move’ is too stressfull to act on…and there was alot of rationalization in the face of the numbers and still is, ie)
—-”I’ve lived here XX years”
—- “I just put $XX,XXX dollars into my house, I’m not leaving now”
—-”It’ll come back, I’m not going to worry about it”
—-”Housing is a good historical investment, I’m here for the long term”

Synopsis:
Housing peaked in early ‘05, and started to decline rapidly into 2006, then subprime collapse in in March of ‘07 due to skyrocketing foreclosures.

Here is a quote from the September 2006 Census Bureau Housing Release:

“The median price of a new home plunged in September by the largest amount in more than 35 years…The Commerce Department reported that the median price for a new home sold in September was $217,100, a drop of 9.7 percent from September 2005. It was the lowest median price for a new home since September 2004 and the sharpest year-over-year decline since December 1970.”

So you tell me you didn’t know it was falling apart, lol.
——————————
It is going to be a cold day in hell before I believe any of these guys in the Big 2.8 didn’t know that they were in big trouble…they were already bleeding money when things were good (GM lost 10billion in ‘05). Anyone trying to hock $40,000 vehicles in a environment where the average consumers was having his net worth destroyed (his house), knew their days were numbered.

The proof is in the pudding. GM sold GMAC to Cerberus for 14 billion to start the ’survival cash pile’…when? April 2006.

This was actually a good start, unfortunately, they just couldn’t bite the bullet and take the next step and develop even a few cars that would be good sellers in the ‘new economy’…the big margins were just too appealing on those ‘whale-cars’ to make lower cost alternatives.

Not that it would have mattered, all three of them knew before this crisis that the end was coming for them…they were already paying for their sins of the past and being crushed by the massive debtloads over their heads even in a great car market.

The automakers at the time (pre-2006 crisis) thought then that they could continue to delay their demise by borrowing more and more money to pay off old debts, never actually being profitable…and why not? Access to cash was easy. For us consumers, we call that ‘kiting’ and I’m sure alot of Americans have become intimately aware of the process the past several years.

So bring on the excuses boys, I’m sure you can find a couple people to sympathize, even believe you, but excuses don’t pay the bills and you won’t find anyone to loan you money…other than the American government maybe. Caution to Uncle Sam though, right now you are no better shape than GM was earlier this decade…and it shows just the same, and just as obvious for you as it did for GM then.

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W Majesty Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 9:55 am

Bankruptcy is not a good idea. During a bankruptcy decision making is removed from the corporation. Payroll becomes the top priority. And new product development (i.e. Volt) will be immediately pushed aside. So bankruptcy will automatically result in a “delay” of the Volt to the marketplace.

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Wendelin Wiedeking Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 10:06 am

Short term profitability is what GM is looking for today. Because the Volt is a long-term solution it should probably be delayed, specifically because it is not intended to be a profitable project during the first year of production. In Germany we would call this a sound business decision but in America the executives in charge sometimes make wrong decision.

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Ziv Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 10:15 am

Watanabe and Dieter think GM should delay the Volts production.
Now that makes me smile just a bit.
Obviously GM is in big trouble and Chapter 11 may be the only way to make domestic production profitable. If GM wants to succeed without Chapter 11, they will have to eat a huge s*** sandwich, and if the corporate execs refuse to take a bite, it probably won’t work. Even if everyone takes a cut in pay, if they don’t get the Volt and the Cruze out asap, they will be relying on the Silverado, Impala and the Malibu to keep them going. Somehow, having the Silverado as your main breadwinner doens’t look like a winning idea right about now. I love the Silverado, owned one for years and it was rock solid and fun to drive, but they aren’t going to be selling 500,000+ of them next year like they did last year.
GM needs good quality, high mileage cars with good fit and finish, i.e. a smaller version of the new Malibu, but they need a green halo even more. The Prius has done just that for Toyota, and the Volt would be even more important for GM because it isn’t an improvement in mileage, it changes our energy reliance from primarily overseas oil to primarily domestically produced electricity. That will literally change the world when EREV production gets to the point that oil/gasoline is an OPTION for a lot of us. If I adjust my driving slightly, I would be able to get by with just a few gallons of E85 a month. Say 30 gallons of gasoline a year, 85% of which will be domestic ethanol and of the remaining 5 gallons of gas from oil, 2/3 is from overseas oil. So people like me will use 3.3 gallons of foreign gasoline a year vs. 400 gallons of foreign gasoline (plus 200 gallons of domestically produced gasoline) that I need to go the 12,000 miles I usually drive every year.
$700,000,000,000 per year is what our foreign oil addiction costs us, and much of it paid to nations that aren’t exactly friends of ours.
NPNS!

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Alan Mulally Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 10:20 am

GM cannot afford to continue with the Volt project at this time. It makes sense to have a temporary delay while the GM focuses on the big picture of saving the whole corporation during bad economic times. I don’t think it is going to make that big a difference if the Volt launches in 2011 or even 2012 as the demand will still be there.

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Robert Nardelli Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 10:29 am

The Volt is not the answer to all of GM’s problems. If it started production next month at full capacity it wouldn’t be enough to keep this rusty old ship afloat. What GM needs at the moment is draconian measures like say a 50 percent reduction of North American empolyees (including non-union) and massive plant closures.

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statik Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 10:42 am

#54 Alan Mulally
#55 Robert Nardelli
————————————
/I like what you did there

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Stephen Feinberg Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 10:43 am

GM should acquire Chrysler assets and utilize sale of such assets to rectify non performing GM assets. Sale of GMAC in whole to Cerberus would relieve GM of financial liability of said entity. It is paramount the U.S. government (aka American Taxpayer) share part of the burden of GM’s Chrysler acquisition. Only after these transactions are completed should the Volt be allowed to continue development, hopefully with only a small delay. For the sake of the Volt all shareholders of GM need to get on board with this great merger.

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randy Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 11:10 am

They better not delay it cuz thats the only thing they will be selling if the economy does not improve dramatically

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JB Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 11:13 am

Anyone who thinks that internal-combustion-only vehicles have a future has his head in the sand.

GM, 30-35 mpg won’t cut it. They MUST:
– ramp up production of the Volt to 100,000 per year ASAP
– heavily advertise the Volt and other hybrids (plug-in or not) — provide long-term loans at low rates . By long-term loans I mean 6-8 years. At $35 k and up, the Volt won’t sell enough unless people can spread the cost over a long period without getting killed on interest.

If GM thinks 30-35 mpg will sell vehicles in the energy market that’s developing, they will go bankrupt and NEVER recover as a major manufacturer for the mass market.

Don’t expect gas to stay down for long. The biggest factor in the rising gas prices is rising demand from China and India. Even if those countries’ rate of growth moderates, they still have 2.5 BILLION people between them. Every year, tens of millions of people in those countries buy a car, motorcycle, or moped for the first time in their life.

Even much slower growth in China & India’s economies will mean 4-5% increase in their oil consumption per year instead of 8-10%.

Increases in Chinese & Indian oil consumption will more than offset declines in North American & European consumption. So, even if Americans & Canadians & Europeans aggressively adopt hybrids and plug-ins, total world consumption of oil will continue to rise.

More to the point, total world consumption of oil will continue to rise faster than any likely increase in total supply. That’s a recipe for gas to climb back to $4 per gallon — and much higher — in the next 5 years or so.

—————

GM absolutely needs vehicles that can run all-electric for a reasonable distance, and then get at least 60-65 mpg after that.

Why? Well, look at the competition. My 2008 Prius is rated 48/45 mpg, and I consistently get 52-54 mpg with careful driving. With the release of the 2010 Prius — 11 months from now — fuel economy will reportedly increase about 10%. That means a rating of 50+ mpg for both highway on local driving, which may mean 55 mpg with careful driving.

Then consider the 2011 Prius. It will upgrade from nickel-metal hydride batteries to lithium-ion batteries, and it will be assembled in the USA (at Toyota’s new plant in Mississippi). Don’t be surprised if that gets 60+ mpg, and the Volt won’t even be available in meaningful numbers by then.

————-

PLEASE, GM, for the sake of Michigan, your workers, and your shareholders: BUILD THE VOLT ON SCHEDULE. Drop everything else if you need to, but build the Volt and hybrids, offer excellent financing, and make sure everyone knows about them.

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Gordon Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 11:15 am

Only the good die young.

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G Richard Wagoner Jr Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 11:21 am

GM would welcome a federal initiative to invest in the General Motors Corporation at this time. With a modest $100 billion immediate cash investment the U.S. government can be assured of a healthy return on the public’s confidence in GM. We at GM are committed to turning the company around and achieving profitability as quickly as possible. In order to prevent the defection of our most valuable resources I will immediately implement a large salary increase for the outstanding executive team that will be responsible for leading us in this turnaround. These tremendous salary adjustments will greatly increase the moral in the executive ranks and lead to a productivity increase the likes of which have never been seen in the Detroit area. Under performing plants will be consolidated of shutdown on an accelerated pace. Managers at the remaining plants will receive substantial salary increases and large bonuses based on productivity incentives as outlined in our restructuring plan. Hourly workers pay will be coupled with output volume and any non performing hourly workers will be escorted from the plant. Executive bonuses will be given at all profitable plants to maintain company moral at a suitable level. As CEO I would begin these improvements immediately upon receipt of Treasury department EFT. Note: It is imperative that the transfer of funds occur before December 12th so that disbursement of Executive holiday bonuses happens in a timely manner. Thank you and we thank the government for their cooperation in this outstanding endeavor.

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Robert Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 11:32 am

Delay? Say What? Has everyone gone mad?
The Volt is a game changer, if anything we need just the opposite, lets put it on the FAST TRACK NOW !

What we really need is a DELAY in this kind of thinking !!!

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noel park Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 11:33 am

Alas, the predictions of Mr. Statik are becoming all too true, all too rapidly. Perhaps he should change his screen name to “The Prophet”. Careful though, someone once reminded me of the fate that befell many prophets in the Biblical times, LOL. Come to think of it, I guess it wouldn’t help him on the comment counter though, LMAO.

Other than that, I can’t comment. Toooooooooooo depressing. Have a nice weekend bloggers. Try not to take it all too seriously.

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john1701a Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 11:41 am

With the release of the 2010 Prius — 11 months from now
__________________________________________

Actually, it could be just 7 months from now. Since Camry-Hybrid was delivered in May and Highlander-Hybrid in July, there’s no reason Prius couldn’t come before Fall either.

As for GM thinking 30-35 MPG will satisfy the rapidly expanding efficiency market, they’re in trouble. 50 MPG is proving quite realistic. Consumers are seeing that as the new baseline.

It would be interesting if Volt was scaled back to become competitively priced. Reducing battery size would make a whole lot of players involved much happier than slowing, postponing, or killing the current plan.

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Dave K. Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 11:45 am

Fri 10/24/08

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The pace of existing home sales in the United States rose sharply in September to a 5.18 million-unit annual rate to log the first year-over-year increase in sales in nearly three years, the National Association of Realtors said in a report on Friday.

Economists polled by Reuters were expecting home resales to rise to a 4.93 million-unit pace, from the 4.91 million rate set in August.

The September increase was the largest monthly rise in sales since a 5.6 percent increase reported for July 2003.

=D~

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Mopar Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 11:52 am

When GM merges with Chrysler does that mean the new Camaro will get a Hemi ?

A Hemi powered Camaro would be schweeeet.

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Takeo Fukui Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 11:57 am

The new Honda Insight will be available before Volt is finished. Insight will get same mileage as Volt for half price. Insight is very good deal for all Americans. We hope you enjoy our Insight. Thank you very much.

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Honda Hornet Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 12:01 pm

My understanding is the new Honda Insight Hybrid will have a starting price of $18,500. Sounds like a good deal to me.

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GM Done Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 12:08 pm

What has happened to GM ?
I heard they cannot even keep all the lights on in GM building anymore. Only every other light is allowed on to save $$$. This company is in bad shape. I can remember driving by GM in the middle of the night and ALL lights were beaming brightly. Actually they even had all the outside lighting going during daylight as well. Oh how times have changed.

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Tom Delay Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 12:15 pm

The Cruze has been delayed at least a year. There goes 40 MPG car from GM lineup. Bad move. The Cruze was supposed to be the biggest compact car on the market. Coulda Shoulda Woulda…
IMO, the Volt delay is not as dramatic as the Cruze delay.

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jabroni Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 12:21 pm

Delay is not the proper descriptor.

Doom is much more precise.

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kent beuchert Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 12:32 pm

Don’t you just love the logic that says in order to learn something, you take a poll of people who have no information about same?
Now lets take a poll of the public to find out whether Einstein’s general Relativity theory holds water. I can’t wait to se the results.

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statik Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 12:49 pm

#63 noel park

Alas, the predictions of Mr. Statik are becoming all too true, all too rapidly. Perhaps he should change his screen name to “The Prophet”. Careful though, someone once reminded me of the fate that befell many prophets in the Biblical times, LOL. Come to think of it, I guess it wouldn’t help him on the comment counter though, LMAO.

Other than that, I can’t comment. Toooooooooooo depressing. Have a nice weekend bloggers. Try not to take it all too seriously.
———————————————-
The tone of the comments and community in gerneral certainly have changed alot in the past year or so haven’t they?

At some point reality destroys dreams…I have that woven into a sofa cushion.

Your right though, no sense to take things too seriously…at least here on the internet. If your too involved in what is going on, your probably best to not show up here, GM is the proverbial poster child for the state of the economy/general public right now.

However, from a ‘detached’ point of view (like my own), this is a very exciting time. The world is being torn down, and we are ‘resetting’ The excesses of the system and individuals are being eliminated, the world economy is merging, the long spurned ‘green agenda’ is now turning into the ‘mainstream agenda’, alternative fuels, energy independance–and not just from foreign oil, but also individuals from their own governments (which is even better).

So although I am practically always negative (or realistic…depending on your viewpoint), I am still looking at the whole picture in the long run as a really good thing.

/you have a good weekend too noel

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Ralph Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 12:51 pm

@ GM Done

That ain’t all they’re cutting. Thermostats are being set at 66 degrees and refrigerators are being removed from offices to save on utility bill. Office supplies are being drastically cut back. Workers are being asked to bring in their own notebook computers if possible so that their desktop machines can be unplugged. Office space is being reduced, more people per room (aka Sardines). Network bandwidth is being throttled to keep the routers and servers cooler. Employees are being encouraged to wear more clothing to adapt to possibly lower temps in the future. Since GM owns most of their buildings all maintenance is being frozen. Yes, GM is rapidly becoming a cold dark and gloomy place to work at today.

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Edwin Mang Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 1:22 pm

I feel that a 25 to 28 mpg half ton truck could starve off a shut down of some plants and put GM in the up swing on stock prices plus get truck sales up to a steady number . I still want to see GM put that 30 MPG caddie engine in a pickup .
I always wanted to see a GiddieupGO .

Edwin Mang Jr.

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Frank D Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 3:07 pm

We all know that the car is a necessary tool, whether we use it to get to work or we use it to transport cargo for our business. other than that the idea of using an auto for pleasure is in itself a dying extravagance. As much as I want GM to build the Volt, I see the only option for GM is to shed every brand except the Volt, and a smaller cargo E-Flex based vehicle. Our Country will be changing in ways many are not ready for. My plan B will be to find a small start-up company that is willing to take a chance on this new world and provide electric conversions for the millions of autos already out there and being used. It would be a big loss if GM does not survive, especially since it provides many jobs. I truly hope GM prevails one way or the other.

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Koz Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 3:47 pm

Wow! The Tesla Model S looks awesome. Can someone(s), Mr. Gates or Buffet or somebody else please, please fund them. No IPO’s in todays environment is putting the kaibosh on their plans. A 80 mile REEV (Tesla’s lingo) version would have a lot of demand (Tesla scale demand) even in today’s economy. Too bad they abandoned the REEV concept. I know some people didn’t think they could compete with the big boys, but there is plenty of market for the Volt and the Model S and a few others in the volumes that have been discussed.

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Gordon Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 4:27 pm

The $$$ needed to save the American Auto Industry should come from the BILLIONS the oil companies are making. How about some of them investing in the machines that create the demand for their own product. Only a small percentage of total vehicles produced will go electric/hybrid, so it only makes sense for them to back the companies that make Trucks and SUV’s.

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Koz Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 4:28 pm

Well, I hate to rain on a rainy day but all may not be as bad for GM as it appears. Don’t confuse my comments here. I do believe GM is in BIG trouble and will need something to get them through their financial pickel without Chpt 11. It’s just that so much is now being made of the toughening business environment and interpolating this to mean that things are going to get worse for GM. While I believe we are in the midst of the worst prolonged economic downturn since the Depression, some of the fundamentals have turned a little bit in GM’s favor going forward. Before shaking your head and closing your eyes in disagreement consider this:
Copper 3yr high $9000, current $3985
Steel 3mo-Med 3yr high $1200, current $270
Aluminum HG Cash 3yr high $3300, $1910
Oil (-CL) 3yr high $147, current $65
Gasoline (US Retail) 3yr high $4.10, current $2.90

Obvious this doesn’t remove the mountain of debt that GM is buried under. Nor do commodity prices improve overall demand for cars much. Lower gas prices do make GM’s larger vehicles a little more appealing to the those that are buying, so look for GM to do a little better relative to their competition in this next year than they did in the past year. I don’t think people are going to jump back to buying buying vehicles without concern for fuel economy but they won’t be making as drastic moves as we’ve seen this past year with Tahoe foresaken for Smart cars. People will be thinking more of right sizing their vehicle, perhaps an Vue instead of a Tahoe. Commodity costs are a significant part of the loaded cost of a vehicle, so the castly reduced costs will significantly help their per vehicle profit.

This may give GM an opportunity to survive with bankruptcy that they may not have otherwise had but the margin for error is still razor thin. In my layman’s opinion and as others have suggested they need to:
-Renegotiate their UAW agreements scheduled to be implemented in 2010 to start immediately in conjunction with corresponding cuts for the white collar work force
-produce the Cruze on time
-Concentrate production on “right sized” vehicles (CUVs, small SUVs, mid sized sedans, minivans, sport wagons, compact sedans, etc)

Oh…regarding Cruze delays affect Volt production date. Aren’t the approved $25B loans tied to production of vehicles like the Volt. Perhaps someone who has read the mind numbing legislation can comment.

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Rashiid Amul Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 4:54 pm

#29 Dave K says,

It’s a long way off, but Volt technology will eventually morph into 250HP vehicles with FWD and offering 4WD on the fly. The needs of snow country and muddy areas will demand this.

Doors will open for EV Jet Ski, snow mobiles and other sport scooters as well.

Should someone phone Bombardier?
———————
Honestly, it can’t get here too soon for me.

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Grizzly Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 5:13 pm

GM DONE #69

“What has happened to GM ?
I heard they cannot even keep all the lights on in GM building anymore”

*** *** ***

I once worked for a Fortune 500 company that faced financial troubles, and they started turning lights off in bathrooms etc to save everywhere they could. The eventually closed that building and sold it off, but they survived sans Ch. 7 or 11 and they are still in business today. They survived not because of the electricity savings but because they were willing to do *everything* to make it happen.

.

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Dave K. Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 5:17 pm

Yes, times are tough now and only the nimble will survive.

Here’s an out-of-the-box thought for our comrades at GM. How about assigning 1/2 of the assorted mailicrolt mules into the hands of your loyal test drivers of gm-volt.com?

Our demographics cover all the areas that R&D requires. From upper Canada to NY, So Cal, Mid West, deep South, Australia…ect.
Heat, cold, mountains (me), dry areas, salty areas, and bumpy areas.

This alone will save about a million dollars. And this will allow 1/2 of your battery testing lab to move onto other models. If you already have a “flawless” battery with over 30,000 miles on it. Let’s tag this part of the Volt as ‘a winner’. To spend another lab-year and huge money to continue the mileage tally to 100,000 seems like a silly administrative game. Only to complete it and say, “Yup…it’s works fine”.

You have Lyle’s phone number.

=D~

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bruce g Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 5:21 pm

I think it is time for GM to throw in the towel.
Their cars were never much better than fords or chryslers, why dont they just cash up….and let Ford fight it out with Toyota and VW..

and…throw what cash they have left into electric cars..they have the best technology..start again with just the volt.. and its descendants…

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nasaman Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 5:30 pm

I just stumbled across an interesting NY Times article that chronicles the financial problems GM is having called “General Motors, Driven to the Brink” just published today. It’s worth reading at………

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/business/26jane.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&src=ig&oref=slogin

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kubel Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 6:16 pm

I don’t believe anyone should be bailing out an inefficient company. If GM can’t lose some weight and soon, I say let them go under. Competitors will be happy to buy up their eFlex program.

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Speedy Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 6:48 pm

Gm is not delaying the volt. The volt is steal on track. And the chevrolet cruze is steal on track.

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Casey Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 6:54 pm

I know what will save GM, get rid of all the gas cars, and get rid of the Volt and build a car with a big spring and a key on the outside of the trunk to wind it up, no more gas no more electricity no more carbon foot prints and it would be cheap enough for GM to build. I saw one many many years ago, somewhere em I don’t know, but somewhere

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Rashiid Amul Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 7:01 pm

Casey #87.

Agreed. And we can put a couple of hamsters in there to run on the wheel.

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RB Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 7:10 pm

#88 Rashiid #87 Casey

It may be better to use a mule to turn the wheel to wind the car. Then if it won’t go the mule can pull the car

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Grizzly Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 7:14 pm

RB #89

When a mule doesn’t want to go…..it ‘aint gonna’ go.

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Call Steven Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 7:28 pm

I know were GM can get some cash. Try Apple, Inc. They have $25 billion in CASH and ZERO DEBT. That’s right no debt, nothing, zilch, nada. Must be nice to be Apple these days. Also, as of last quarter they now outsell their hated rival Blackberry (aka RIM). Not bad for a little company who never made a phone before and still only sells one. I am sure the folks at Apple would give GM favorable rates. Can’t hurt to ask.

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Dave K. Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 7:41 pm

hi nasaman # 84,

Thanks for the hyperlink to an interesting article.

A “company” isn’t made of buildings and parking lots. It’s made of people. I know this first hand as I have cold started a production line many an early Monday morning. It’s eerily quiet before the people arrive and machines start rolling.

The workforce of GM, from janitor to executive, have arrived at the proverbial fork in the road. And they can’t go both ways. It’s either going to be unified effort to work together. Along with cost containment via harsh measures. Such as SUV plant closures, pay cuts, less medical coverage, and renewed interest in producing a high quality product.

Or, the other path. Which is having a foreign interest move in to cherry pick the bits of diamond and ruby from the rubble. They will soon move on. Leaving the locals wondering if their jobs will, in some form, return.

I have seen this happen before and it isn’t pretty.

Will the Volt continue on? Without a doubt, yes. Because it is as Bob Lutz has stated, “The mother load”. Which it obviously is.

I will conclude by mentioning a personal story. I had a good job in an oil supported business. I was a foreman and worked my a** off every day. Sometimes carrying 2 times a floor workers workload. Overseas competition, high oil prices, and overhead created a steady monthly loss profile for us which we endured for 3 years before giving up and selling to an LLC.

This LLC made a modest effort to continue operations and then quickly turned our production facility into a distribution center. 80% of the workforce were let go without pension or severance. The reason the LLC could do this is that the company which had hired us no longer existed.

=D~

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statik Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 8:07 pm

#84 nasaman

I just stumbled across an interesting NY Times article that chronicles the financial problems GM is having called “General Motors, Driven to the Brink” just published today. It’s worth reading at………

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/business/26jane.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&src=ig&oref=slogin
——————————————

Thanks for the link…a good article.

I think it should have read, ‘State of the SUV union at GM,’ as it gives a good backstory on the large platform’s history and where it is today.

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RB Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 8:10 pm

#84 nasaman — thank you for the link.
=============================================

I thought the article was written in the same condescending tone that flows through writers from the NYTimes when they describe “flyover country.”

People write about SUVs as if they are long gone. Actually most are still here. No, they haven’t been replaced by new ones. But also no, the parents of families have not yet crammed everyone into a Corolla or a Prius..

We shall see. An electric “big” vehicle would be very popular. In the meantime, gas gets cheaper.

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RB Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 8:18 pm

#90 Grizzly — on mules
=================================

Grizzly — definitely so. Have you ever “driven” a mule?
Maybe bring along something that mules like, to wind the spring, to run the car, to pull the trailer that carries the mule.

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RB Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 8:24 pm

WSJ says “On Thursday, members of Michigan’s congressional delegation sent a letter to Mr. Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, urging the Bush administration to allow auto companies to participate in the [bailout] program, a move many in Detroit hope would smooth the way for a merger of General Motors Corp. with Chrysler LLC.”
=======================================

Most likely there will be a Fed bailout of some sort, maybe separated from a Chrysler merger.

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Dave K. Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 8:44 pm

hi RB # 24,

#84 nasaman — thank you for the link.
=============================================

I thought the article was written in the same condescending tone that flows through writers from the NYTimes when they describe “flyover country.”

___________________________________

The first step to healing is realizing that there is a problem. The second step is identifying the problem so it can be addressed.

Example: You, your wife, and kids are on vacation. You pack up the SUV and hit the road. You’re less than 1/3 of the way along when your kids shout that they are hungry. You look in your wallet and see enough money for fuel and enough for one mid-trip food stop. So you tell your kids that it will be another hour or more until they get their food stop. And that they will need to be patient and work with the needs of the family for now.
___________________________________

I worked the last 48 hours of my former petroleum based job for free. I had a pretty good idea that we couldn’t make payroll, but I did it anyway. Why? Because the company had provided for me and my family for years and I appreciated the big picture of the times.

Two years later I happened into the president of our former company. We shared a smile of mutual respect and a simple “hello sir”. We both know we did our best.

It’s the same thing with GM. But don’t lose heart. The plug-in Vue is here. If they meet their Job 1 target, GM will likely be the first manufacturer to put a plug-in hybrid into production.

=D~

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statik Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 8:45 pm

#96 RB

WSJ says “On Thursday, members of Michigan’s congressional delegation sent a letter to Mr. Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, urging the Bush administration to allow auto companies to participate in the [bailout] program, a move many in Detroit hope would smooth the way for a merger of General Motors Corp. with Chrysler LLC.”

—Most likely there will be a Fed bailout of some sort, maybe separated from a Chrysler merger.
——————————————————-

They should save their breath and their ‘lobby dollars’ until after the election in my opinion.

I don’t think you will see any non-financial institution cash fed into the system until at least the new year…unless the government is faced with a ‘important company’ actually shutting the lights off, or saying they are going to eminently.

Public opinion won’t get behind a bailout of a ‘GM type’ business unless it is mortally wounded I don’t think.

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BobLutz Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 10:05 pm

GM’s just a big failure.

The top exec’s are all a joke.

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J Man Says:
October 26th, 2008 at 9:53 am

I am glad to see that a lot of you see that the UAW workers should be taking pay cuts, I think those of you that think that should take one right along with them!!!!!

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Rashiid Amul Says:
October 26th, 2008 at 4:13 pm

100 J Man Says,
I am glad to see that a lot of you see that the UAW workers should be taking pay cuts, I think those of you that think that should take one right along with them!!!!!

————————–
UAW workers will be better off taking a pay cut if the alternative is no job at all. However, UAW workers should take pay cuts only after the higher up execs take huge ones themselves.

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Grizzly Says:
October 26th, 2008 at 5:03 pm

statik #98

“Public opinion won’t get behind a bailout of a ‘GM type’ business unless it is mortally wounded I don’t think.”

*** *** ***

Haven’t you been preaching the “mortally wounded” GM since you’ve been on this site?

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Jon Archer Says:
October 26th, 2008 at 5:05 pm

Truthguy Says:
October 25th, 2008 at 3:51 am

Joe Archer says Iraq and Afghanistan are disasters. Rubbish. Things are going well in both places. I have friends who have come back from both and they report things are going well and REAL progress is being made. This will pay huge dividens in the future …
———————-
Dream on. Iraq is getting ready to kick out American forces and ally closely to Iran, and give the oil concessions to China. ‘Huge dividends’, but not for America…

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/10/25-2
You realize the current Shia government in Iraq used to live in Iran when Saddam was in power, right ? Or are you ‘confused’, like John McCain…

Afghanistan is a slow train wreck. Who cares if some of your friends thought things at their little town was OK. Karzai can barely control a fraction of Kabul, and the Taliban are slowly closing in. The U.S. is begging Europe for more troops and equipment…

And the name is ‘Jon’, not ‘Joe’. It seems you are not a ‘detail’ guy. That would explain your optimism about the two disastrous Wars. The truth is in the details, ‘truthguy’

But the real coming disaster is Peak Oil. Do you have any friends recently back from Saudi Arabia that tell you everything is just fine ? Don’t believe them. 2010 to 2014 – it will hit hard. The Chevy Volt will be just in time: 40 miles on electricity will cover most commutes in the U.S., and allow wind, solar, nuclear, coal, natural gas, anything local, to power our vehicle fleet. Plus the U.S. still pumps about 8 million barrels/day oil, not shabby, but we use 20.5 million/day.

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statik Says:
October 26th, 2008 at 5:34 pm

#102 Grizzly

statik #98 says:“Public opinion won’t get behind a bailout of a ‘GM type’ business unless it is mortally wounded I don’t think.”

*** *** ***

Haven’t you been preaching the “mortally wounded” GM since you’ve been on this site?
—————————————-

Yes..yes I have…although I would argue ‘public opinion’ was not even close to being on my side…it is getting there though. I’d say maybe 15-50% think GM is done now.

/I smell a great poll in the making, hehe

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Bintoo Says:
October 26th, 2008 at 6:13 pm

If you stop and think about the timing for a minute the Volt should hit the US market right about the time it starts to come out of the recession they are in. Oil will start to rise in price. GM to the rescue! One can dream can’t one…

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Keith Says:
October 26th, 2008 at 6:44 pm

The way I see it the ONLY ONES who will be able to buy a Volt when they are finally manufactured will be those who have CASH or HAVE A TOP CREDIT RATING.
This will remove 75% of the people on the waiting list so I guess GM had it figured out right from the start . 10,000 units for sale the first year.
Better start putting $ 500.00 aside every month if you want to get your Volt before the car goes into second generation production because your chances of getting a used Volt are next to ZERO.
Have you been watching the financial news lately , only those with CASH and EXCELLENT CREDIT are able to buy cars now and it is going to get worse before it gets better.

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koz Says:
October 26th, 2008 at 7:55 pm

J Man #100

“I am glad to see that a lot of you see that the UAW workers should be taking pay cuts, I think those of you that think that should take one right along with them!!!!!”

Not sure what economy your living but those people fortunate enough to keep their jobs are looking at pay cuts from shorter work weeks, less overtime, and lower pay. Only those with longterm union contracts are immune but their companies are not. If the US automakers cannot become competive with Japanese and European automakers then there is no point to the taxpayers bailing them out or even loaning them money only to be on life support for a few more years. We are staring at some tough times and some hard decisions need to be made to pull through this without disastrous consequences.

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Aaron Jae Says:
October 27th, 2008 at 11:30 am

I know this is in no way a long term solution, but it might help get them to the point where they can release the Volt & consequently continue on in their plans of world domination……..

I know a lot of people have their hopes & dreams of a better future riding on this car & although I doubt many of us have the millions or billions necessary to get this to market, I do have a couple thousand that I’ve been putting away for a deposit on this thing & I’d be more than willing to put it down early, if that’s what it’ll take to ensure it’s made.

The waiting list of this website is touting that it’s current subscribers have already committed to almost 40 million in deposits alone for the volt. I bet an early deposit would be willingly given by a ton of people on this list in exchange for early & guaranteed delivery of the car when it gets released……

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alisa Says:
October 27th, 2008 at 4:23 pm

106 keith

The way I see it the ONLY ONES who will be able to buy a Volt when they are finally manufactured will be those who have CASH or HAVE A TOP CREDIT RATING.
This will remove 75% of the people on the waiting list so I guess GM had it figured out right from the start . 10,000 units for sale the first year.
*******
I think 75% is very generous. Even in the old days of good credit I would figure maybe 20% of people on a internet wait list could afford it, with the new financing, maybe 10%

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Dan Petit Says:
October 29th, 2008 at 5:17 pm

Whenever the Volt becomes available, I am patiently waiting, financially-preparing, technologically-studying, post-writing-contributing, and customer/friends/relatives-educating. In short, I am changing my entire world and existence to accommodate the Volt.
What I want from the Federal Government the day after election day is the elimination of this ” ‘do nothing’ and ‘therefore do nothing wrong’ ” mentality of the very elders in our frozen governmental hierarchy.
They all need to be voted out of office, the ones who, over the last 8 years, all of a sudden, advertise in the last 8 days that they are somehow worthy of being kept in office.
There has been a great slow-down in the field of auto servicing, for many reasons,but, I suspect that maybe one that I had not considered before is that many people may be delaying scheduled services and repairs all to soon. This would be an extremely unwise thing to do, because when that check-engine light comes on,you don’t really have more than a few weeks to deal with the cause of it before expensive other secondary things go wrong. This is ALWAYS the case with the check engine light.
But I hope that after election day, all parties can give themselves permission to see that the desires of most Americans (whether or not you own a Toyota, or a Honda, or a Chevy), that there is a moral commitment to invest in all worthy (and GM IS MOST CERTAINLY WORTHY), pathways to environmental cures which may extend our chances of ADAPTING to future changes.
This planet belongs MORE to the people who are younger than you, as just as a fact of the matter that they (and their right to have kids) need more time to exist than you or me.
The arrogance of people who choose to believe that there is “nothing wrong” amazes me entirely when they are younger than the age of, say , 40 or so.
I sometimes say “It is your planet more than it is mine” for that reason, when I am training auto techs about emissions systems, and they don’t believe emissions problems really need to be corrected. (My Emissions course is the exact same course as my “Fuel Economy” course).
Yes, GM is completely deserving of large levels of assistance be it either grants, loans, or even stock purchases by you individuals.
Why does everyone think that the only imperative to buying something is that they must absolutely make “good” financially on it, when there may be an imperative to make “good” environmentally on it, just because you know it is the right thing to do. (You can’t take it with you, why not buy that stock, a little or a lot).
If GM did not start doing the Volt project, I very seriously doubt anyone else would have, (Which has me bring complete credabitily to the Volt project.),
You know, I still don’t hear very much about other OEM’s (from their official sites, not made-up smoke-’n-mirrors and “rumors” from “unofficial sites”, which I find grossly unimpressive as of this date.).
Anyone who thinks that GM is not completely deserving of very strong levels of assistance as I described above, is too deeply routed in “single or several solutions” thinking, when in fact,
WE HAD BETTER SEND EVERY RESOURCE POSSIBLE TO EVERY CREDIBLE PROJECT POSSIBLE or we are really going to give ourselves the scre_. (am i allowed to say that?).

Dan Petit Austin TX

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